Vermont State Colleges seeks planning funds for campus housing and $5M for a Johnson campus heating-plant project
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Summary
Vermont State Colleges officials told the committee they have $1.5M in capital maintenance for FY26 and FY27, have spent $1.2M to date, and are requesting $1M for housing predevelopment and a $5M budget to design and implement a new central heating solution at Johnson campus.
Sharon Scott, chief financial and operating officer for the Vermont State Colleges, and Mike Stevens, AVP of campus operations for Vermont State University, briefed the committee on Section 8 on Feb. 4.
Scott said the capital bill provided $1.5 million for major maintenance in FY26 and $1.5 million for FY27 and reported $1.2 million already spent on repairs systemwide. They listed a range of projects already completed or underway, including roofs, pool systems, HVAC pump replacements and stair repairs. Stevens said major-maintenance projects commonly range from $25,000 to $250,000.
Stevens described a central-heating-plant project for the Johnson campus, where two of the boilers date to the 1960s and one to the 1980s. The division has issued an RFP; bids are due and schematic design is planned to return findings by mid-June. Stevens said the department would evaluate options including geothermal, biomass and other fuels and that the total project budget under consideration is $5,000,000 to cover design and implementation phases. "Our intent is not to exceed this budget," he said.
Scott also outlined a $1,000,000 capital-predevelopment request to study modular campus-adjacent housing that could be replicated across campuses to serve older students, families and community members. She said the chancellor did not include the request in the governor's submission and will return with fuller planning materials if the committee recommends the predevelopment funds.
Committee members raised questions about dorm capacity and conversion feasibility; Stevens said Johnson could comfortably house about 500 students but currently houses roughly 200 (about 30% occupancy) and noted that many older residence buildings are concrete-heavy and costly to convert to apartments.